England v Pakistan: T20 Cricket World Cup Super 8s – live | T20 World Cup 2026
Key occasions
eleventh over: Pakistan 73-2 (Farhan 34, Babar 25) Overton returns, presumably to finagle an affordable over earlier than returning on the demise, and more and more, that is trying like toss to lose: had England batted first, they’d have been swinging exhausting whereas now, Pakistan are exhibiting them tips on how to play on this floor. Three singles from 4 balls up the strain…
tenth over: Pakistan 70-2 (Farhan 32, Babar 24) Babar forces down the bottom they usually run the primary one too slowly in order that they miss out on the second. Rashid then tries one so slowly it is nearly going backwards… earlier than injecting tempo right into a wrongun which Babar would not choose, driving into his personal pad. Two singles full an over which yields simply 4, and this is superb work from England.
ninth over: Pakistan 66-2 (Farhan 30, Babar 22) Dawson continues and Pakistan are letting him bowl; Surely they should search for boundaries within the speedy future? After two singles, Babar tries a heave to midwicket, however would not get sufficient of it, so earns simply two, and the over is accomplished with a dot, a one and a dot. So far, that is going extraordinarily properly for England: they’ve not acquired into the meat of the center order but, however no matter occurs, chances are high they’re going to not be chasing a monster.
eighth over: Pakistan 61-2 (Farhan 29, Babar 18) A key second within the match: Adil Rashid is into the assault, starting with a half-tracking vast. Two singles comply with, because the bowler searches for his perfect tempo on this deck, then Babar takes two and one into the leg facet.
seventh over: Pakistan 55-2 (Farhan 28, Babar 14) Curran into the assault and Babar takes his first two deliveries for 2 and one – he is beginning to look assured. For unknown causes, my protection then cuts out, returning in time for me to see Farhan clobber down the bottom for 4. I believe England will like what they’re seeing from this floor – the tempo will swimsuit their batters, although it will even be encouraging for Afridi.
sixth over: Pakistan 46-2 (Farhan 23, Babar 10) Bowling filled with size, Dawson cramps Farhan with two deliveries, then an inside-edge bisects the boys at wonderful land sq. leg, dashing away for 4. A slog-sweep then provides two, Bethell doing properly to redeem his earlier error with a diving, sliding cease… and that’s drinks.
fifth over: Pakistan 40-2 (Farhan 17, Babar 10) Archer’s first three deliveries go for singles, the batters struggling together with his tempo – and I believe his motion, instantly bursting into pace from proper near the stumps, is a contributing issue. Babar, although, seems significantly better in twizzling a pull to the midwicket fence then, subsequent ball, he waits earlier than deflecting 4 extra by backward level; shot. Eleven off the over, and significantly better from Pakistan, who’ve most likely seen off Archer for the now.
4th over: Pakistan 29-2 (Farhan 15, Babar 1) Ba ba ba, Babar Azam will get away through single, then Farhan provides one other; England will likely be considering another wicket they usually’re actually in amongst it.
WICKET! Salman Agha v Overton b Dawson 5 (Pakistan 27-2)
There’s a little bit of panic about the best way Pakistan are batting and Salman flogs Dawson excessive into the hair, Overton galumphing in from long-on … to take a wise low catch on the slide. Naturally, the PA instantly fires up the YMCA.
4th over: Pakistan 27-1 (Farhan 14, Salman 5) Dawson into the assault and Salman swipes his loosener to deep midwicket, Bethell chasing after it, lacking his drag-back then bumping ball over fence for 4. Whoops.
third over: Pakistan 23-1 (Farhan 14, Salman 1) Archer welcomes Salman to the crease with a fantastic thing about a beast, quick, lifting, and cracking the batter within the sternum. That did not look nice, and the supply which follows has loads of bounce too, Buttler doing properly to save lots of byes. An edged single follows, tempo actually kicking up now, and Farhan mini-panics, giving himself room earlier than inside-edging 4 previous his stumps; that is growing right into a severe spell. But off the ultimate ball of the over, the batter clouts in the direction of the fence at deep sq., Salt chases across the balcony, hurls himself full-length… and lands simply quick, unable to forestall the boundary-four.
“You had me ROFLing with the statement ‘If the ICC had any sense’,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “Up there among a Sensible Trump and an Ethical Fifa.”
WICKET! Saim Ayub c Bethell b Archer 7 (Pakistan 14-1)
Short from Archer, he will get slightly large on Siam, and he toe-ends his pull excessive within the air for Bethell to snaffle at deep backward sq..
2nd over: Pakistan 14-0 (Farhan 6, Saim 7) Overton’s first supply presents width, so Farhan flings fingers, lashing 4 uppishly by level. A pull to Bethell at deep sq. provides another, then Saim flicks to midwicket for 2; a large follows, then a drive to deep sq. for an extra single.
1st over: Pakistan 5-0 (Farhan 1, Saim 4) Decent nip from Archer, the pitch providing a bit extra motion and bounce. After two dots, Farhan clearly determined to get off the mark – he is despatched again, then misses with a waft – he paddles to deep level for one. This brings Saim on to strike, who seems to show into the on facet a ball that strikes away from him… then steps down and cracks over third man for a one-bounce 4, a significantly better shot, utilizing the route of the ball to his benefit.
Out come the batters. I can not wait to see what Jofra Archer makes of a pitch with juice i it.
The groups emerge, then the officers, strolling by a guard of fireworks, stirring muzak enjoying, as a result of how else can import be communicated? Anthem time.
The stands are fairly empty. If the ICC had any sense, they’d insist the excess was given to varsities at no cost.
I’m actually trying ahead to watching Usman Tariq immediately. The pause earlier than supply is a superb innovation – it jogs my memory of what Thierry Henry says about ending. He’d have a look at the goalie within the eyes – he known as it “freezing him” as a result of he was nonetheless standing trying again whereas Henry was passing it previous him. What the pause does, I believe, is obfuscate the time of launch, which implies the batter cannot anticipate what’s coming at him.
Teams
Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Salman Ali Agha (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Fakhar Zaman, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Usman Khan (wk), 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Usman Tariq.
England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Tom Banton, 5 Harry Brook (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Jamie Overton, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid.
I assumed England would fancy a chase on this wicket, with the ball approaching helped by the dew; Ian Ward tells us that Kumar Sangakkara reckons it is a chase wicket and Moeen Ali properly notes that desirous to bat first bespeaks groups not that assured.
England, unchanged, would even have batted, says Harry Brook. They’ve not performed their greatest recreation but, they’ve ready to face all of the Pakistan bowlers, and they’re filled with confidence.
Pakistan gained the toss and can bat
Salman Agha thinks it is a good pitch and situations in Sri Lanka do not change a lot from place to position. He makes one change following the NZ NR: Shaheen Shah Afridi replaces Faheem Ashraf.
Time for the toss…
I assume it simply feels unimaginable to win a World Cup with an assault of Dawson, Rashid, Overton, Archer, Curran and Jacks, however right here we’re. As Juice Terry Lawson has it, selection is the spice of life – however I’d like only a contact extra high quality with it.
If Jos Buttler fails once more immediately, is his place below risk? My sense just isn’t, as a result of he is earned himself credit score – and he’ll hope the monitor they’re enjoying on immediately has a bit extra tempo in it than Sunday’s. If that is so, and it is meant to be, I’m wondering if England think about enjoying Josh Tongue; once more, my sense just isn’t, batting depth prioritized over a firing tempo assault.
What an absolute state of affairs that is:
Check out Simon Burnton’s preview.
Preamble
Modern life bombards us with data, demanding us to take positions, then entrench ourselves inside them. As a consequence – sure, particularly for the skilled pronouncers amongst us – slipping away is the sacred artwork of claiming … I do not know.
And, with males’s T20 changing ladies’s tennis because the world’s least predictable sport, it is a talent on which we might do properly to depend on over the following 12 days. Take England for instance, their fearsome batting phutting solely to be danced out by… their battery of spinners? Verily, we don’t expletive know.
What we do know, although, is that if England beat Pakistan immediately, they are going to be into the semis with a recreation to spare – a job far simpler mentioned that carried out. Although they’re now at residence in Pallekele, whereas Pakistan are enjoying their first match away from Colombo, they’re going to face quite a lot of gradual bowlers, the type of which they have been struggling in opposition to, the event’s main run-scorer in Sahibzada Farhan, and the gloriously harmful Babar Azam.
But after all, T20 being T20, the decisive acts are simply as prone to be carried out by somebody we by no means anticipated them of, in the best way it was unimaginable to preconceive, to ship an end result that feels each shocking and inevitable… or not, nobody is aware of.
Play: 7pm native, 1.30pm GMT
